Technology is rapidly advancing daily. It seems like everyday a new MacBook Pro or Microsoft Surface laptop is released. Before we even blink, we are forking over thousands of dollars for these brand new laptops. We do not mind spending the money because we know how beneficial a laptop will be in our lives. We all can agree that that we could never make it through college in today’s world without a laptop’s help. What most of us do not realize however, is that these laptops are also harming us. As students, our fingertips are constantly rattling on keyboards, and our eyes are consistently glued to computer screens. Whether we are completing assignments, taking notes, or just surfing the web, there is almost always a computer at our fingertips. Laptops are helpful in taking notes, completing assignments, and conducting research. They are harmful because they are a major distraction, and can lower test scores. The heat on the debate on whether laptops should be used in classrooms is continually growing. Computers both positively and negatively affect the lives of many worldwide on a daily basis. Are computers more helpful or harmful to the everyday lives of students globally and locally?

            The most obvious advantage of computers for college students is the use for schoolwork and classroom activities. According to Campus Explorer, a college information based website, explains that, “Proponents of classroom technology are revolutionaries in their own right. They believe that if used properly, technology can be a useful tool in supplementing class lectures and other activities”(“The Laptop Debate”). In class lectures, professors can now use programs to ask questions to the class and receive responses from students on their computers. Having this ability helps students answer questions if they are reluctant to speak in a large lecture. Campus Explorer continues to explain that not only can professors utilize these programs; computers are also beneficial in other ways. Students can bring their laptops to their lecture to take notes. Being able to type faster than handwrite is very helpful. Students are given the chance to jot down notes more quickly, giving them a better chance to learn more effectively. In addition, computers make completing online assignments and communicating with professors much easier. In general, laptops are of great use to college students, and the usage rate is growing rapidly.

Another major advantage of constantly being on computers is that young adults are becoming more “digitally literate”. According to Boundless Education, a website dedicated to college information, “The shift in worldwide computer usage and the need for computer skills in today's workforce have pushed the United States government to create guidelines, such as the Core Curriculum Content Standards, for educators to ensure that students are prepared to meet the demands of the 21st century” (“The Importance of”). Major job opportunities for college graduates in today’s age will require knowledge of computer usage. Students that are constantly on computers in college to complete almost every task will be better prepared for this future. Being “diligently literate”, as Boundless Education calls it, will give people a huge advantage in the work field. Being accustomed to many computer programs from daily use will give students a skill that not every one else has. Digital literacy is crucial in the twenty-first century.

            Although computers are very helpful in many parts of our lives, they are also a major harm. Computers are becoming more of a distraction every single day, as technology is advancing. For college students, almost everything is completed via computers. Yes, computers help students complete assignments, but in class they are distracting students away from their lectures. Classroom Explorer explains that “College professors want students’ undivided attention, and they don’t always get that when computers are allowed in the classroom” (“The Laptop Debate”). Students are surfing the web, and scrolling on social media during these lectures. With so much distraction at the tip of their fingers, professors are not getting the attention they need from students. Therefore, computers are hindering our ability to learn in lecture format classrooms. It is almost impossible to absorb the information of an hour and fifteen-minute chemistry lecture while scrolling on Facebook or Twitter.

            Furthermore, computers in the classroom are not only distracting students, but are also negatively effecting grades. Professors are also noticing this harmful effect, “Diane Sieber, an associate professor, teaches writing and ethics to engineering undergraduates. She told the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper that last semester, she identified 17 students in one of her classes who were using laptops most frequently. After the first test, she told them that they did 11 percent worse, on average, than their peers who did not have their faces in their computers as much”(Fischman). Many students do not realize how harmful having a computer in class can be. Diane Sieber continued to explain that after those laptop users realized their grades were lower, they immediately stopped bring laptops to class. Of course taking notes on the computer is faster, but the potential for a grade drop is not worth the risk.

            While distraction is occurring and grade point averages are dropping, professors are also getting irritated.  Students are paying for their higher education, but sitting in class ignoring the lectures. Professors worldwide are noticing the lack of attention they have from students while they are on their computers. Tal Gross, a professor at Columbia, University wants to get computers banned from classrooms.  Gross explained in his article This Year, I Resolve to Ban Laptops From My Classroom, “It was one kid who unintentionally suggested the idea. He was sitting in the back row, silently pecking away at his laptop the entire class. At times, he smiled at his screen. But he rarely looked up at me”(Gross). How can you expect to learn with your attention absorbed into a computer screen? Gross is not the only teacher that deals with this dilemma daily. It is clear that Professor Gross and Professor Sieber, from the last example, are only two of many that have noticed this issue.  Professors like Gross and Sieber are beginning to limit laptop use in classrooms to make their lectures more effective.

            Is banning laptops a fair way to deal with these debate? According to Berlin Fang, a credible educational cause and effect writer, banning laptops in colleges is not as easy of a choice as one may think. Fang explains that college students are no longer little children, and as adults, they have more accessibility to laptops and technology. In high school and below, students mostly do not even have the option of bringing their own laptops to school. In college however, this freedom is a much larger right for adults. Fang continues to say that banning laptops in class can harm other students. She shows this debacle in her article, “Students have also expressed concerns about such bans. In a recent survey of mobile learning at Oklahoma Christian University, we found that many students expressed a strong preference to bring laptops into their classrooms so that they could take notes, for example. One student wrote, ‘More professors need to allow laptops in their classes. They say they ban them because they are a distraction, but it should be up to the student to put the effort into the class.’…We are adults, and if someone decides to waste time on the Internet instead of taking notes, that is their choice, but the rest of us shouldn't be punished for it.” (Fang). The article is saying that as a college student, paying to receive your higher education, it is your responsibility to handle your own life. This point of view shows that students that want to bring their laptops to take effective and quick notes in class should have no problem doing that. If others cannot handle the freedom of a computer at hand, than they should stick with hand written notes. In general, Fang is displaying that the use of laptops in class should be allowed and accepted as a personal choice for every college student.

            Valerie Strauss, a Washington Post writer, formed an article based on the views of a New York University professor. Clay Shirky teaches media studies at NYU, so his views come as a shock to readers. Shirky has always allowed computers in his classrooms. Even though most of his writing and research in his career involved technological advancements and benefits, Shirky has recently banned laptops from his classrooms. Previously, he had always had an open policy on laptops. He never felt as if they were a problem, mainly because his lectures were based on the benefits of technology. As time went on however, Professor Shirky noticed distraction growing rapidly. He tested his lectures without giving students access to computers, and it really opened his eyes quickly. He realized that students attempting to multi-task were having major issues. “We’ve known for some time that multi-tasking is bad for the quality of cognitive work, and is especially punishing of the kind of cognitive work we ask of college students. This effect takes place over more than one time frame- even when multi-tasking doesn’t significantly degrade immediate performance, it can have negative long-term effects on “declarative memory”, the kind of focused recall that lets people characterize and use what they learned from earlier studying. (Multi-tasking thus makes the famous ‘learned it the day before the test, forgot it the day after’ effect even more pernicious)” (Strauss). Students may be listening to the lectures while they mindlessly surface the web, but they are not truly learning. They cannot grasp and process the information being taught to them. They might hear the words, but they are not processing the content. Shirky thinks that multi-tasking is too difficult for students that are attempting to learn a large range of material in a short amount of time. After making this change in his classrooms, Shirky realized that computers, overall, were harmfully affecting his students.

Computers in the education field are a major debate. There are many pros and cons of using computers for college students. This is only a local debate, but it is a national one too. Colleges all over the world are experiencing a higher computer usage rate than ever. The number of computer users continues to grow daily. Using this technology has become a lifestyle for almost every college student. They are helpful for classroom activities, completing assignments, taking notes, and becoming more digitally literate. Computers are harmful because they are very distracting, can hurt grade point averages, and make lecture format classrooms highly ineffective. Technology has taken over society, and left us in an unknown debate of “Computers Versus Education”.